Watching our backs
by Arikae
Summary: A seed of doubt has been placed in Ed's mind, making him doubt Sam's ability to watch his and the team's backs. This story takes place after episode two.


**Author's note: This is just a short story. An idea about how the Team doesn't quite trust Sam because they didn't get to choose him. I actually got lazy with this story, I just needed to get it down and out of my head. It doesn't quite put Ed in a good light and I apologise for that because I really do like his character but for this story, he needed to be a bit stubborn. Of course everything turns out in the end. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone on Team One or any other character for that matter. **

**Warnings: un-betaed**

Sam Braddock is the newest member of the Strategic Response Unit. He joined them over 3 weeks ago after finishing his 2nd tour in Afghanistan. Sam knew he had to work harder than any other new recruit because he didn't go through the normal channels. With all SRU recruits, it was the Team who interviewed, tested and evaluated them. It was always a team effort, so the entire team was always satisfied with their newest member. It was different with Sam. Captain Hollander had told Team one that they were getting a new recruit who came straight from Special forces. It didn't sit well with the team. They needed trust and Sam's background was too unclear for the team to fully trust him. Sam understood, it was the same with JTF2, your team is your family. Out there, there's only your team and survival depends on your team having your back. Sam planned to prove to his team that he had their backs, that he would give his life to protect them.

It actually hadn't been too bad, the team may not trust him yet but it wasn't as if they weren't friendly. If it hadn't been for Steve helping out during a training session, it wouldn't have been too bad, but unluckily for Sam, Steve had mentioned to Ed Lane, Team One's team leader, that he should watch his team's back with Sam on the team. It was that little seed of doubt that would lead to trouble for Sam and Team One.

Team one has been assigned to back up Guns and Gangs today. Guns and Gangs currently have an undercover agent who has found out the time, date and place of a meet involving millions of dollars in firearms. Team one's job was to provide additional fire power in case the meet doesn't go as planned and everything goes to hell. They've been given pictures of abandoned buildings where the meet will be held. It would've been more effective if Team one could go to the buildings to work out where their men should be situated to cover every possible exit and police officer, however, they were too close to the date now and any one hanging around the buildings will tip off the arms dealers. Ed is lead tactical officer and seeing as this was a tactical operation, Ed will be taking the lead. The team stood around the conference table studying the pictures they were provided. Places were marked out for each team member. The team seemed satisfied with their position and the total coverage, all except Sam.

"That's not the best spot for me." Sam pointed at the pictures, "I can't efficiently cover the undercover agent from here."

The team studied the picture again, not seeing the problem that Sam did. "Well, it's a good thing you're not the only one covering the agent." Ed told him in a not too friendly tone.

"With all due respect, Sir, but if the agent moves in either of these directions," Sam pointed to the picture, "nobody can cover him, not to mention anyone else."

"Are you seeing something I'm not, Sam?"

Sam knew he was crossing the line. This was Ed's operation and Sam should be following his orders, however, it was also his job to point out any blindspots or weak points. "Sir, it's a good plan but…"

"Thank you for your approval, Sam." Ed said sarcastically.

Sam face hardened at the tone, "Sir, my job in Special forces was to pick out the best spots for a sniper position. We rarely got to visit an area before hand so studying pictures like these was my job. I know a blindspot when I see one."

The whole team remained silent throughout this stand-off between the two tactical officers. Greg finally stepped in, not wanting an all out confrontation, "Sam, Ed's taking lead on this and the Guns and Gangs team already have the plans on where we'll be. They are expecting us to watch their backs. We can't change the plans now." Sam could understand Greg's reasoning and he knew he had no choice but to accept the assignment. He gave Ed one last glared before nodding stiffly. "Okay, everyone, we have a big night ahead of us, get some rest and we'll meet back here at 20 hundred hours for further instructions from Guns and Gangs. Sam was the first to leave, heading for the firing range outdoors to get in some sniper practice before heading out on the mission.

Greg and Ed stayed back. Ed knew Greg had something to say to him in private. "Any reason why you're so hard on the new kid?"

"What? I'm hard on every rookie."

Greg shook his head, "Yes you are but you also always showed them the ropes. With Sam, you're different."

"He's cocky and one day that is going to get someone killed."

"So mentor him. SRU is the best of the best, we get young cocky officers in here all the time, but it doesn't take them long to understand that being the best shot isn't what SRU is all about. You need to give him a chance."

"Greg, he's second guessing my orders." Ed wasn't about to give in so easily. He needed every member of his team to have his back, not wondering if his decisions are the right ones.

"And that's wrong, but we don't slam down on someone who's giving advice that is drawn from first hand experience." Greg held up his hand, stopping Ed's objection. "I'm not saying we should change our plans, it's too late for that now, but Sam was just giving his expert opinion."

Ed sighed, he hated when Greg was right. "Fine, I'll talk to him."

Sam was outside in the training field shooting targets that were over 2 kilometres away. This is his job, shooting targets that weren't even aware that he was there. Faceless targets. He loved his job, he's good at it, but after Kandahar, he wanted to save lives not just take them, because after what had happened there, he realised that taking out targets from a mile away just wasn't going to cut it for him. Just shooting on orders without knowing why or what good it was doing wasn't good enough anymore.

"Have you ever missed?" Sam didn't jump at the voice. He knew someone was there. He could hear their footsteps earlier, but he wasn't expecting them to belong to Ed.

Sam didn't get up, but he did answer, not taking his eyes off his target, "Despite what I like to tell everyone, yes, I do." He does miss, it was rare, but he does and he wished that he had missed that very last time. Sam let off another shot, then got up and started packing up his rifle.

"Look, Sam. I need to know that my team has my back, that you are going to follow my orders to the T. I can't have you second guessing my decisions."

Sam understood that, but that didn't mean that he wasn't right about the position he was place. "I'm a soldier, Ed, blindly following orders is what I do best." Sam packed away the last piece of equipment and hoisted the bag over his shoulder. "I just thought SRU was different." He said softly, about to walk past Ed, when he grabbed him by the arm.

"What's that suppose to mean?" For some reason that last comment rubbed Ed up the wrong way.

Sam sighed, "Nothing. It's not supposed to mean anything. Okay? I'll be in position." Sam waited for Ed to let him go.

"You better be. I'm trusting a lot lives in your hands."

Sam clenched his jaw, he didn't know what he did to make Ed so angry at him, but he was damn well getting sick of being treated like an outsider. "I won't let anyone die on my watch." Sam wanted to pull his arm out from Ed's grip, but he knew how that would come across and the last thing he wanted was to cause more tension. He waited until finally Ed let up. Sam gave Ed one last look before heading back to the office.

**The meet.**

Everything went to hell as soon as Guns and gangs made themselves known. The intel was wrong. There were more men than they had first thought, almost ten more. Sam was sniping from two hundred metres away. He got off a few good shots when he noticed members of Guns and gangs were going down. Sam looked around. The arms dealers had a sniper too, he realised. "Everyone needs to take cover. There's a sniper." Sam called into his headset. He looked around to see where the sniper could be perched. Looking down, he saw how vulnerable his team and other police officers were. They were pinned down until Sam could nail the sniper.

"Sam! Have you got him?" Ed asked from his position behind some crates.

"No joy. I have to move."

"Negative, Sam, stay where you are. Can anyone spot the sniper?" Ed called over the guns being fired.

"No, Sir." Jules called out.

"Nothing!"

"Where the hell is he?"

"Sir, I have to move! I can't pin point his position from here." Sam expertly climbed down to the next landing and ran towards the front of the warehouse.

"Damn it, Sam! Do not break cover!" Ed was pissed off and Sam could hear it. He had disobeyed a direct order and will probably pay for it later, but there was no time to argue. Sam looked down at his team. The arms dealers and there men were mostly dealt with, but there were still too many still active. If he didn't do something soon, this was not going to end well for either side. He spotted a few of bad guys boxing in Jules and Wordy. Sam aimed and fired three shots in succession taking them down. Wordy turned around and was shocked to see a man drop. He was that close to biting the bullet. Wordy looked up at where Sam was, but Sam wasn't paying any attention, he had a sniper to find. Unfortunately, Sam had broken cover to cover his team and the other sniper found Sam just half a second before Sam found him. However, Sam was the better shot. Sam's bullet left the barrel before two bullets slammed into him, forcing him back into the wall. The bullet impacted the left of Sam's chest while Sam's bullet hit the sniper in the head. The threat was taken out. Sam struggled to take in a breath; it was a relief when it finally came. He coughed at the pain in his chest and continued taking deep breaths until it was under control. "Sam, report." He heard Wordy call out to him.

"No harm." He coughed out, quickly getting up to his knees and looking through his scope for the sniper, seeing that his shot was good, Sam reported, "Target neutralised." Sam pushed himself up to his feet and looked around at the damage. He did a count, Jules, Wordy, Sarge, Lew, Spike and Ed were all accounted for. He didn't know about the Guns and gangs team members but he could see that the undercover agent was unharmed. Finally, it was over and Team one was safe. Sam allowed the relief to flood over him. He saw his team heading out to the SUVs and followed suit. He knew the rules; any fatal shootings required an interview with the SUI to ensure it was a good shooting. Sam knew it was, but that didn't make the process any easier.

Sam got outside and handed his side arm and rifle to the SUI agents. He was about to get in the car when Ed came up to him and spun him around, shoving him up against the SUI car. Sam winced at the pain it caused in his chest, but he wasn't going to show any more than that to Ed. "You disobeyed a direct order! I told you to stay in position."

"I had to move. I couldn't find the sniper from my original position. You were all pinned down, if I didn't move, we'd still be in there."

"You don't know that. We don't need heroics on this team. It could get people killed." Ed growled at him. Ed didn't see what happened. He didn't see how Sam had managed to take down three men after changing places. He didn't see Sam take down the sniper, all he saw was Sam breaking cover. He saw Sam go down and it scared him. Sam had made him a promise that nobody would die on his watch, he didn't think Sam would risk his own life to see it through. He was relieved to hear Sam answer that he was unharmed, but the fear turned to anger and as soon as he saw Sam, he couldn't help but direct the anger at him. He was so angry that he had completely forgotten that Sam had taken two bullets to the chest.

Greg saw his team leader lose control of his temper and ran over to pull him off. "That's enough, Ed." He nodded to the SUI agent, "Take him." Sam glared at Ed before getting in the car. Ed stood there breathing heavily, the rage still there as he watched the car take Sam away. "What the hell has gotten into you, Ed?"

Ed spun around at him, shocked that Greg could even ask that. "He disobeyed a direct order. He broke cover and almost got himself killed!"

Greg sighed, so that was it. Ed thought that had lost Sam. He wasn't angry at Sam, he was angry at himself. "It's not your fault."

Ed shook his head, dismissing what Greg was saying to him, "What are you talking about?"

"Sam getting hit isn't your fault and getting angry at Sam isn't going to make you feel better." Greg told him calmly.

Ed looked at him, a confused and annoyed look on his face. "We're not talking about me; we're talking about the Rookie disobeying orders!"

"He did it to save our lives." Wordy walked over to them to explain what he saw. "One of those guys snuck up on me. He had me dead to rights, but Sam nailed him first. After everything was done, Jules and I found another two more bodies. They were closing in on us and only Sam could see it. Jules and I would be in a morgue right now if Sam hadn't moved."

"He did good, Ed." Jules didn't know what had happened until Wordy told her. She felt bad, she hadn't been treating Sam badly, just not as warmly as she would any other new recruit.

"We don't condone heroics on this team." Ed argued, but there was no force behind it.

"You know he didn't do it to be a hero. He did it because it's his job." Greg knew they were getting through Ed's rage so he just waited to let everything sink in. He knew when it did, because Ed just looked defeated. Greg smiled, "Come on, you can apologise to him when he gets back." They walked back to the SUVs. Guns and gangs will clean up here, their job was done.

Sam's chest was killing him which made the interview even harder. He's never been questioned about his shootings before. It was his first lethal since joining SRU and he wasn't given any advice, but it was clean shootings, and the interviewer could see that already. He arrived back just after the team had debriefed, still feeling the effects of the impact of the bullets. Sam went straight to the weapons cage and removed his gear, then headed straight to his locker, hoping to get changed and go home without talking to the rest of the team, but that wasn't to be because Ed was waiting for him. He was already changed into his civilian clothes. Sam closed his eyes in frustration, he wasn't ready for another round with Ed. Ed got up off the bench as soon as Sam rounded the corner, ready to apologise, but Sam didn't give him that chance. "Damn it, Ed, can't we just leave it for tomorrow. I'm tired, I need to go home. If you want to lay into me, I'm all yours tomorrow. Okay?" Sam pushed past Ed to his locker. Ed sighed, he knew he deserved that and more.

"Listen, Sam…" But Sam didn't want to listen, the pain in his chest wouldn't go away and neither would Ed.

"What the hell do you want from me, Ed? I did what you asked, I watched your backs and yes, I disobeyed a direct order, but it was a stupid assed order, so I ignored it!" Sam closed his eyes at the pain the yelling caused in his chest.

Ed was shocked at Sam's outburst, but he was more worried about Sam's chest. He's been hit in the chest before and as much as it hurt, it didn't cause the pain showing on Sam's face. "Sam, you need to…"

Again, Sam didn't let Ed finish, he's been holding back his anger since Steve had mention Kandahar after the training rounds and now he couldn't reign it back it. "What do I have to do for you to treat me like I'm a part of your team, Ed?"

"What?" Ed knew he had been unfair to Sam, but Sam was apart of the team.

"You want to know about Afghanistan? Is that it?" Yes that was it, but Ed wasn't sure he needed to hear it anymore. "I was sniping from 1500 metres out. We had just finished the wrecking and I was cleared to shoot. When we went down to do the IDs one of them was my buddy, Matt," Ed could hear the slight hitch in Sam's voice. If Ed felt bad before, he felt 10 times worse now. He should've known better than to judge a man after only hearing one side of the story. "He wasn't supposed to be there. I was cleared to shoot." Sam said, as if trying to convince himself, "You only had to…" Suddenly Sam had trouble breathing. His hand grabbed at his chest, trying to force his lungs to work.

Ed watched Sam's face pale and his eyes widen in panic as he struggled to draw breath. "Sam?" Sam grabbed onto Ed when his breathing became more difficult and he started feeling dizzy to the point where he could no longer stand. Ed caught him under the arms and gently lowered him to the floor, his back against the lockers. "It's okay, Sam." Ed felt around Sam's chest causing Sam to gasp in pain. "Sorry." Ed winced at the pain he'd just caused, "Looks like you've broken a couple ribs. Might be pressing against your lungs." Sam's breathing was shallow, and his lips were starting to turn blue, "Hang in there, Sam. I'm calling EMS." Ed pulled out his phone and made the call, all the while keeping a hand on Sam's shoulder for support. "I need an ambulance at SRU headquarters. We have an injured officer. Possible broken ribs and he's having trouble breathing." Ed hung up the phone. "They're on their way." Sam gave a nod. He was shaking now. "WORDY, GREG, GET IN HERE, NOW!" Ed yelled out to his team mates who were probably waiting in the conference room. Jules, Spike and Lew had gone home, but the others waited. They were hoping Ed would smooth things over with Sam before heading home.

Wordy and Greg were shocked to see Sam sitting on the floor, a strange wheezing sound coming from him. "What happened?" Greg asked as he knelt down next to Sam. Wordy saw what the problem was and ran to get the oxygen bottle.

"The bullets must have cracked a couple of ribs causing injuries to his lungs." Ed explained, "I've called EMS, they're on their way." Ed shook his head, "I should've made sure he got checked out first." Sam frowned at the concern his team leader was showing him. He didn't think Ed cared all that much about him. His vision was fading fast. The lack of oxygen was making it harder for him to hold on to consciousness.

"Sam, stay with us." Wordy returned with a small oxygen tank and mask. Greg got out of the way for Wordy to help Sam. He placed the mask over Sam's mouth and nose. "Just breathe slowly, Sam." Wordy instructed. Sam's eyes started closing. Wordy could see that Sam was trying his hardest to stay awake. "Just keep breathing in the oxygen. The lack of it before was making you sleepy. You should be feeling better soon, okay? So just hold on."

Finally, the EMS arrived. They promptly got their own oxygen onto Sam and gently lifted him onto the gurney, making sure it was elevated to help with Sam's breathing. "I'm riding with them." Ed walked beside the gurney.

"We'll meet you there, Ed." Greg called out, then looked at Wordy worried, "You know, we would've made sure anyone got checked out by the paramedics before letting them go with SUI. What's different about Sam?"

Wordy shook his head, "We let the way he joined the team cloud our judgement. It wasn't fair on him. Just because we didn't choose him, doesn't mean he's not right for the team."

Greg nodded his agreement, "I never thought I'd say this, but Team One needs to work on team work. Come on, let's head over to the hospital."

"Wait, I want to take a look at his Kevlar. We've been shot plenty of times in the chest but none of that's caused damage to our lungs." Wordy went off to where the Kevlars were kept and pulled out the one Sam wore that day. Wordy and Greg looked at the bullet in the vest. It didn't look out of the ordinary. Wordy took out a pocket knife and dug the slug out, immediately they saw the problem.

Greg shook his head, "What are the chances of two bullets hitting the exact same spot?" The first bullet wouldn't have caused much damage, but the second bullet hitting the first one meant that the vest couldn't do its job as effectively. Usually the vest would spread the impact throughout the entire chest area, minimising any damage, but because the second bullet had hit the first one, the impact was more concentrated on the one area, causing a more severe injury.

"Sam's just having a really bad day." Wordy shook his head at the freak injury.

"Yeah, let's go. See if we can't make it better."

Ed was sitting in the waiting room. Sam was taken down for an x-ray of his chest as well as an ultrasound of the area. Ed had stayed by his side until they entered a restricted area, the whole time telling Sam that he would be fine. Ed tried to be positive but Sam looked at him with a confused look the entire time and it hurt, because Ed realised that Sam wasn't confused at what was happening to him, he was wondering why Ed cared. For three weeks, Ed's been treating Sam like an outsider and he only just figured out how hard it's been on Sam. He had a lot of ground to make up with the rookie on the team and he was damned sure he was going to make sure Sam knew he was a part of the team.

"Any word yet?" Ed looked up to find Wordy and Greg standing over him.

Ed shook his head. "They've got him down at x-rays. The doctor thinks it's a bruised lung, but they're not sure how bad yet until they get the x-rays."

Greg pats him on the back. "Sam's a tough kid, Ed. He'll be fine."

"Physically, sure." Ed countered, rubbing his face.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You know, the whole entire ride here, Sam looked at me as if he couldn't understand why I give a damn!" Ed was angry, they could both see it. "He's a part of my team and he's wondering why I'm worried for him!" Ed shot to his feet and turned to Greg and Wordy, "Boss, this is screwed up! How did I let it get to this point!"

"It's not just you, Ed. We all let it get too far. We're the leaders of this team, we set the example and this time, we set the wrong one."

"Come on, guys. It's not so bad. Sam's gonna be fine. He was obviously an excellent soldier and the way he handled the bust today shows that he's made for SRU, now we just have to make sure he knows it." Wordy knew the situation was salvageable.

Ed nodded, "I know and we will." Ed was about to sit back down when Sam's doctor came out.

"Family of Sam Braddock?"

"That's us. We're his team mates, he was injured on the job." Ed explained so that the doctor was willing to talk to them about Sam even though they weren't family.

The doctor nodded, "I'm Dr John Richmond, Mr Braddock's physician. He's left lung is bruised due to one broken rib pushing against it. He's also got one cracked rib. We've wrapped it to keep it stable. The good news is that it's only a mild contusion, so the pain should go away in about three to four days and his breathing should return to normal within two weeks. His ribs will take longer to heal but there won't be any lasting damage."

"Can we see him?" Wordy asked.

"Of course, we've got him settled in room 321. We'll be keeping him overnight for observations and if everything stays the way they are, you should be able to take him home tomorrow."

"Thank you, Dr Richmond." Greg and Wordy shook the man's hand before running after Ed who didn't wait for the doctor to finish.

Ed gently opened the door to Sam's room and saw that Sam was sleeping. The pain medication must be keeping him under for a while. There was also an IV in Sam's left hand that Ed guessed was to keep an infection at bay and he had a nasal canal to provide the oxygen he needed for his lungs to heal. Greg and Wordy were standing on the other side of the bed. They were just as concerned for Ed as they were for Sam. "Doctor says he'll be fine in a couple of weeks."

"Yeah, I heard him. I was there." Ed told them, but still keeping his eyes on Sam. Sam's breathing is more relaxed now that he's asleep. Ed hoped it was still that way when he woke up, that breathing didn't cause too much pain for him.

"I thought we already talked about this, Ed. Blaming yourself isn't going to help anyone," Greg looked at Sam, "Least of all him."

As if Sam knew they were talking about him, his eyes fluttered open, squinting until they adjusted to the light in the room. "Hey, look who's awake." Greg smiled at him, "How do you feel?"

Sam thought about that; breathing didn't hurt as bad as it did before but he still felt a little short of breath. "Like an elephant's sitting on me." Sam grimaced at the uncomfortable pressure.

"Pulmonary contusion will make you feel that way." Wordy told him. "You should've told us you were having trouble breathing."

Sam closed his eyes; he was really getting sick of having to explain himself, even if they were just concerned for him. "I didn't have trouble breathing until I got back to SRU."

"Doctor says you'll be okay after a couple of weeks. You'll need to take it easy until then."

Sam sighed, "Great. Well at least you have a good excuse replace me. Find a new recruit the proper way." He's resigned himself to the belief that Team One will never accept him, not after what he said to Ed.

"Woah! Who said anything about replacing you?" Ed was annoyed now, but mostly at himself for making Sam feeling unwelcomed.

"Who you trying kid, Ed? We've clashed at every turn." Sam closed his eyes, "Guys, I'm really tired. You can have my resignation…"

This time it was Ed's turn to interrupt him, he got right into Sam's face, resting one hand against the head of the bed, "You listen here, Braddock. You don't get to quit SRU just because it's not going the way you planned! It's a tough job, if you think you can't hack it, fine, hand in your resignation tomorrow, but don't do it just because of today. You know, I really didn't peg for a quitter."

Sam frowned, annoyed at the 180 flip his team leader did. "God, Ed, am I ever going to read you right?" Sam gave up, he couldn't please this guy no matter what he did, and trying was just giving him a headache. He looked up when he heard a chuckle from the other side, not happy that he was amusing someone.

"Ed's an enigma. I've known him for over 15 years and he still baffles me." Greg laughed.

Ed got up, folding his arms and facing his boss, "it's not my fault I'm special." That got a laugh from Sam which caused him to start coughing. It was good thing for Sam to cough, it helped with the healing process, but Sam wasn't sure it was worth the pain. When the coughing stopped and the pain started to dull down, he opened his eyes and found three very concerned SRU officers looking at him. "Do you want me to call the doctor?"

Sam shook his head, exhausted. "I'm okay."

"Good." Greg nodded, "We're gonna get going and let you rest."

"Yeah, one of us will be here to pick you up and take you home. Ed, you coming?" Wordy asked.

Ed looked at Sam when he answered, "Nah, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Wordy nodded, he knew Ed and Sam still had issues to work through, "Don't keep him up too late and be gentle." Sam and Ed both gave him an annoyed looked.

"Get out of here." Ed shook his head at his friend. Greg and Wordy left laughing, they knew everything would be right by tomorrow.

Ed took a seat, crossed his ankles and leaned back, casually. Sam watched him make himself comfortable and sighed, "How much trouble am I in?"

Ed thought about that, "You disobeyed a direct order," he held up a finger to stop Sam protest, "but that's not why you're in trouble."

Sam looked at him suspiciously, thinking this was a trick, "It's not?"

"No, it's not. You're in trouble for breaking cover and almost getting yourself killed!" Sam wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just kept quiet and let Ed continue, "You told me you'll watch the team's back and you did, at the expense of your own life."

"I didn't have a choice. I couldn't cover everyone from that spot."

Ed nodded, "I know. You were right. That wasn't the best place for you, but breaking cover was still a stupid thing to do."

"What would you have done?" Sam asked, he still didn't see himself having a choice. Either break cover or let your team die.

Ed sighed, "I would've done the same thing." He admitted, "and you wouldn't have had to break cover if I had listened to you in the first place." Ed sat up and leaned forward, "Listen, Sam. I'm sorry for being such a jerk." Sam raised his eyebrows at that, "Steve said something to me and I let it get in my head. I should've spoken to you before judging."

Sam turned his head and looked up at the ceiling, "I was cleared to fire." Ed nodded, he understood, he's a sniper himself and he's served in the army too, "But not everyone saw it that way. They just think I shot Matt and that's all there is to it." Sam turned back to Ed and Ed saw the pain in his eyes, "To them, I killed one of our own. I couldn't stay with JTF2 after that. Shooting from so far away at people who don't know I'm there, taking their lives from them just like that. I'm ordered to shoot, so that's what I do. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I know I'm doing the right thing, but it's that one percent that I can't live with."

Ed nodded, "You were right earlier. SRU is different. We all bring out personal experience to the table, I was wrong to not give you that chance today and I almost paid the ultimate price for that mistake."

"You were just watching out for the team."

"SRU is the right place for you, so I don't want to hear another word about you quitting the team, because I will kick your ass out of the building if you do."

Sam started to laugh, but stopped when the pain started up again, "Ow, don't make me laugh."

Ed smiled, "Okay." He was glad he cleared things up with Sam, it would've been a great loss if Sam was to quit the team. He stood up, "I'm going to head off. I'll pick you up tomorrow." Ed held out his hand to Sam, "Welcome to Team One, Sam." Sam looked at it and smiled, taking it. He hadn't officially been welcomed by his TL.

"Thank you, Sir." And Sam knew, from that moment that he had made the right choice in joining the Strategic Response Unit.

The End.


End file.
